The municipality of Tantramar is working with Catalyst Consulting Engineers to finalize a tender for a fully-accessible elevator in the Tantramar Memorial Civic Centre.
The company completed a site visit on January 28 for a class D estimate, an estimate provided early in the design stages of a project, and once the tender is complete, the town will put out a request for qualified, interested suppliers to submit bids council will then have to vote on.
Jamie Ferguson, Tantramar’s manager of active living and culture, presented a timeline of staff’s efforts to procure the elevator during a presentation to council updating them on the progress of accessibility updates recommended in an audit by Ability New Brunswick.
“The audit from 2023 noted that there was not currently an elevator in the civic centre but it was not a recommendation or requirement from that report at that time,” he said. “However, as we’ve mentioned, we are committed to seeing that through and having it installed at the civic centre to increase accessibility for all patrons at the rink.“
Listen to the audio below:
Starting in the fall of last year, staff with the municipality have contacted several companies, but only heard back from two—Otis Elevator and TK Elevators. In October, they sent building drawings to TK Elevators, and Otis Elevator had a site visit in November. Beale and Inch also visited the site that month.
In February of this year, Matt Pryde, director of active living and culture, told council during a committee of the whole meeting that an engineering firm had provided an estimate of around $750,000.
At the preceding council meeting on February 10, resident Megan Hicks presented to council she had contacted a contractor on her own, who estimated the project could be completed for between $50,000 and $300,000.
Council then voted unanimously to put the project to tender and the next day, staff contacted Henkel Elevator Services from PEI to discuss Hicks’ quote.
No other updates about the elevator were provided in the presentation, though Ferguson provided a list of 13 other recommendations brought forth by the audit that have since been addressed or committed to.
Smaller items include better washroom signage along the bleachers for $3,986, and reverse swing doors between the mezzanine and the bleachers for $2,104, as well as larger projects, such as the installation of push-button door openers for every washroom and the players’ entrance for $17,940.
Items committed to, but not complete, are the installation of non-slip grating at the Zamboni ice access area, as well as a rubberized non-slip surface at the player’s entrance, and replacing the men’s washroom partition and door.
Altogether, Ferguson said the upgrades totalled $148,739.
Councillor Barry Hicks disagreed with that total, as it included 200 seats ordered through the civic centre’s seating campaign.
“I do not agree with adding that $67,990 in as that was paid by the constituents of Sackville and the Tantramar region,” said Hicks. “So, actually, we’ve only spent a little over $80,000 on that civic centre so far.”
While only 13 items were detailed to council, the audit contained 284 recommendations that staff continue to work toward, said Ferguson.
“ It’s important to note that Ability New Brunswick made it clear that not all recommendations are possible for every facility and the audit is a guideline rather than a list of requirements.”
Ability New Brunswick is set to speak to council at the regular council meeting on June 9th for the newly-elected council.
